DoD Reverses Decision on Hawker vs. Embraer

(R. Goyer, 03/01/12, Flying) According to Hawker Beechcraft Corporation Chairman Bill Boisture the US Air Force has decided to restore the company’s failed bid to win the potentially lucrative contract to build 20 light air support (LAARS) aircraft for delivery to Afghanistan with potential follow-on business worth up to a billion dollars. The US Air Force had previously announced that Sierra Nevada Corporation had won the competition with its entry the "Super Tucano". But HBC protested the award and claimed it had not had enough time to respond...

Watching the AF try to purchase an airplane is like watching a train wreck. I can't seem to look away from the carnage.

Reuters report says Hawker Beechcraft preparing for bankruptcy.

(M. McMillin, Wichita Eagle, 3/28/12) Reuters news service is reporting that sources say that Hawker Beechcraft is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the next several weeks. Hawker Beechcraft is negotiating a pre-arranged bankruptcy with its largest lenders, which includes Centerbridge Partners, Angelo Gordon and Capital Research & Management, the Reuters report said, quoting people familiar with the matter. The Wichita aircraft manufacturer was bought in 2007 by Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm and Onex Corp. for $3.3 billion from Raytheon Inc. It would be surprising if Hawker Beechcraft did not file for bankruptcy, one analyst told The Eagle. The analyst did not want his name used because he is not authorized by his company to talk to the media. “I would definitely assume that they’re filing,” the analyst said...

Hmmm... Once upon a time, Cubdriver sat among the Premier II / Hawker 200 flight test data analysis group at HBC... kinda uncomfortable lately, it would appear.
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Hawker Beechcraft bankruptcy plan outlines 3 options.

(06/17/12, M. McMillan, Wichita Eagle) Hawker Beechcraft’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing includes a plan called “Project Flight,” which assesses what the company could look like as it emerges from reorganization. The document, among the materials provided by Hawker Beechcraft as an exhibit when the company filed for bankruptcy last month, outlines three options, each one eliminating all or some business jet models.The “strategic options” assessment, dated April 5, gives the court and the public an indication of the direction that Hawker Beechcraft CEO Robert “Steve” Miller envisions for the debt-plagued aircraft manufacturer. In all three options, Hawker Beechcraft would keep its military aircraft, King Air and piston business. But all three options eliminate the Premier jet program and halt development of the Hawker 200, an upgraded Premier...

You might keep a job longer if you didn't talk bad about every employer. And I mean that in the very best of ways.

Just reporting the news BC, which is one of the things I do. I feel the pain of my former colleagues in Hawker 200 Analysis Group who are looking at joblessness. Best of luck during the bankruptcy proceedings you now face. I only wish for common good of the larger HBC, and while I will not readily forget the struggles HBC imposed me personally during the latter half of 2010, I do wish and want for the long-term best interests of the company as it faces bankruptcy later this year. Good luck.

Hawker Beechcraft to Be Bought by Chinese Firm

(B. Whitfield, 7/09/201, Flying) Hawker Beechcraft on Monday announced an exclusivity agreement with Superior Aviation Beijing Co. in a deal that, if completed, will allow the Chinese-based company to acquire Hawker Beechcraft for a purchase price of $1.79 billion. Hawker Beechcraft reps say Superior intends to continue present operations at the debt-plagued company while also pouring investment into the storied manufacturer’s business and GA product lines. Under the agreement, Superior would not acquire Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company, which is slated to continue its T-6 trainer program and AT-6 certification process as a separate entity. During the 45-day exclusivity period, Hawker Beechcraft and Superior – a GA parts producer owned 60 percent privately and 40 percent by the Beijing municipal government – will work to hash out the details of the agreement. If the terms aren’t agreed upon in time, Hawker Beechcraft will continue with its bankruptcy plan, which intends to see the company emerge as its own independent entity...

I'm sure you caught it, but I know a number or people have missed this tidbit, so I emphasized it for their benefit:

I'll refrain from making any comments on this one.

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Union, Feds Seek to Block Hawker Beechcraft Bonuses

(S. Pope, 7/31/12, Flying) A federal judge is weighing whether to allow up to $5.3 million in bonuses for eight senior Hawker Beechcraft executives after the company’s union and federal regulators criticized the payouts as a money grab. The court has approved an exclusivity agreement with Superior Aviation Beijing allowing Hawker Beechcraft to sell the company to the Chinese company for $1.79 billion. The sale would not include Hawker Beech’s defense business. The judge last week approved $1.9 million in bonuses for 31 managers. Hawker Beechcraft has defended its plan to pay larger bonuses to top executives, saying they are a "talented and capable group" that has much work left to complete before the company can emerge from bankruptcy. The U.S. Trustee agency, a government bankruptcy watchdog, said the bonus plan is little more than a "disguised retention plan" that rewards managers for remaining at the company during bankruptcy reorganization. The union, meanwhile, is trying to block not only the bonuses but also the sale itself -- although with little progress so far. The judge in the case is expected to rule [soon on the senior HBC executive request for bonuses, following a recent declaration of bankruptcy]...

From Avweb:


July 31, 2012
Some Hawker Beech Bonuses Approved
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By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief



At least 31 senior Hawker Beechcraft employees will receive payments totaling $1.9 million after a bankruptcy judge approved that part of the Key Employee Incentive Program that is part of the company's bankruptcy filing. However, a decision on the big prize for the company's top eight executives, bonuses totaling $5.3 million, has been deferred until Aug. 6, with the judge inviting new evidence to be considered. The company insists the bonuses are justified because taking a company out of bankruptcy and transferring its assets to another owner is a lot of work. They will also preside over the "orderly shutdown" of the business jet part of the business.

The Machinists Union is upset about the whole idea of the sale of Hawker Beech to Superior Airparts, which has an exclusivity agreement with the company to pursue a takeover worth about $1.79 billion. Superior is owned about 40 percent by Chinese interests and the union has warned the sale will give China access to technology and equipment it does not now have. As for the bonuses, the union has hit the "complete irony and hypocrisy" of awarding millions of dollars to those who have been at the helm of the company for its decline.